But this is Chico, too

This is a block that has lost most of its ties to the past. It's one of the oldest parts of Chico, but the only reason you know it is that adjacent blocks have a higher proportion of older buildings.

Start this walk on the southeast corner of Broadway and W. Third Street. It’s the home of the World Savings Chico branch. This building rose from the ashes of a fire that destroyed several businesses, including a bar called the Silver Room, in 1970. During this blaze, Fire Marshal Ray Head became the only Chico firefighter who died of injuries sustained in fighting a fire. A plaque halfway down the block on Broadway honors him.

I like how the bank building has become encased in wisteria.

Head east on Third and you’ll reach the Nottelman building. Proposals in the late 1970s to tear it down rallied preservationists and led to the formation of the Chico Heritage Association. The building isn’t especially architecturally distinguished, but it’s one of the few older buildings left on the block.

At the southwest corner of Main and Third is the home of KCVU Fox 30 television. It has to be one of downtown’s bleakest buildings — despite the mansard roofline. This is the site of the Chico Hotel.

Head south on Main Street, a cheerless stretch because of the television station building. At the northwest corner of Fourth and Main is the site of the Park Hotel, a social gathering place for three generations of Chicoans. Built in 1888, it was torn down in 1963. It’s one of those landmarks that longtime Chicoans still miss. But in another generation, there will be no one left who remembers it.

Join me next time to complete this walk around the block.